Mima House, Viana do Castelo, Portugal

Mima House, Viana do Castelo, Portugal

WE LOVE: this house designed by Mima Architects, which started from the intention of planning a dwelling that responds directly to the lifestyle of our society.

Large windows on each elevation have wooden frames and hinge open as doors. With customised plywood panels, which are provided separately to transform the windows into walls and to create privacy when necessary.

The Mima House construction was inspired by the traditional Japanese residential post-and-beam construction, which could be considered an inherent system of pre-fabrication. The regularised column spacing known as the ken and the infill elements such as shoji screens, fusuma panels and tatami mats, prefabricated by individual craftsmen in different locations of Japan were designed for precise assembly, like pieces of a puzzle.

The use of prefabricated construction methods, ensure quick production and low costs.

In a matter of seconds, a subdivided space can be replaced by an open space or vice versa.

Despite its standardised construction methods, MIMA houses can be customised in so many ways, that you will rarely see two identical houses. MIMA houses can be tested and customised any time at www.mimahousing.pt. The 3D software developed by MIMA’s architects and software engineers allows a recognition of your land through Google Earth and generates an automatic 3D model for a realistic perception of the house and site. This software allows for walking inside the house and defining the architectural finishes, external walls, internal divisions, materials and colors.

QUICK FACTS:
CONSTRUCTION: June 2011
COST: A 36 sq.m. prefabricated house in Portugal costs about the same price to manufacture as a a mid-range family car.